Sawhorse support or brace

ABSTRACT

A sawhorse support or brace comprises a unitary metal body with a bottom and upstanding side members inclined inwardly therefrom to form a support for a cross member. Tubular legs are insertable through openings in the bottom member and are engaged at their upper ends by metal tangs or the like. Flexure of the legs under load causes the side member to grasp the cross member more tightly. The legs extend partially through and along slots formed in the side members. Springs releasably embrace the legs and urge them into the slots.

nited States Pateht Adrien-son [54] SAWHORSE SUPPORT OR BRACE [72] Inventor: John 115. Adnerson, 2427 Kessler Blvd.,

' Lincoln, Nebr. 68502 [22] Filed: Apr. 29, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 138,502

[52] U.S.Cl ..182/l85 [51] llnt. Cl ..E04g 1/32, F1 6m 11/00 [58] lFleld ofSearch ..182/185, 224

[56] I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 802,834 10/1905 Upthegrove 1 82/185 1,015,191 1/1912 Kneisley ..l82/224 1 May 30,1972

2,812,219 11/1957 Lange ..182/185 Primary Examiner--Reina1d0 P. Machado A!t0rney--Gene D. Watson [57] ABSTRACT A sawhorse support or brace comprises a unitary metal body with a bottom and upstanding side members inclined inwardly therefrom to form a support for a cross member. Tubular legs are insertable through openings in the bottom member and are engaged at their upper ends by metal tangs or the like. Flexure of the legs under load causes the side member to grasp the cross member more tightly. The legs extend partially through and along slots formed in the side members. Springs releasably embrace the legs and urge them into the slots.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented May 30, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet l ENVENTOW JOHN E. ANDERSON gene Maison ATTORNEY Patented May 30, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7Z, Q |4\i 0 \lL/m i l l 1 I 1 i I mvmmm JOHN E. ANDERSON J av 98/26 Ma Z 550 ATTORNEY SAWHORSE SUPPORT OR BRACE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to supporting horses or braces, commonly called sawhorses, sawbucks, carpenters tressels, etc., and more particularly'to a support or brace for use in forming a knock-down type such device.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a sawhorse support or brace assembly for use with an elongate cross member of rectangular section and with another such assembly in forming a sawhorse of what I consider to be unequaled effectiveness in its area of usage. A sawhorse constructed with my invention characteristically includes a number of advantageous features, among which are ease and rapidity of assembly and disassembly, ease of transferring or carrying, ease of storage of the components, tightening and seating of the components upon the application of normal load forces, and adjustability to floor level inequalities upon application of normal load forces, whether the lack of level be lateral or longitudinal or both. Such a sawhorse is also easily modified as to height and length. My invention achieves these advantageous characteristics through a novel assembly basically comprising two components, these being a shaped metal mounting unit and two detachable supporting legs.

There are in the art numerous instances of developments by others in this general field. Some of these have been reasonably successful, and others not so successful. In some instances, strength and stability have been achieved only by sacrificing ease of assembly and disassembly. Some have achieved ease of transferability and storage of components, but in doing so have resorted to expensive and non-standard components. Some of these have achieved good tightening and seating of the components upon application of load forces, but to the extent that the components become wedged so tightly together that they cannot be easily disassembled. Finally, some of these have resorted to designs which require such extensive metal forming as to be almost prohibitively expensive. Thus, exemplary of the prior art in this general area are US. Pat. Nos. 2,244,963 (Poll), 2,050,900 (Stelzer), 2,l05,979 (Manley), and 2,698,771 (ORourk).

Basically, the object of this invention is to provide a new and improved arrangement for use in forming a sawhorse, achieving substantially all the advantages of the prior art devices plus additional advantages, while avoiding the disadvantages characteristic of some of these prior art devices. Thus, in my arrangement, the components seat tightly upon the application of normal load forces, but yet the device is easily and quickly disassembled for use. My device uses as a cross member a standard piece of dimensioned lumber, but yet provides good storage and carrying space for the removable legs. My device adjusts quickly to any reasonable lack of level, either laterally or longitudinally, in the supporting floor, but yet it is more than adequately strong and stable for its intended use. I

The invention, and its objects and advantages, will become more apparent in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment presented below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention presented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sawhorse constructed with the preferred embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded view of the left-hand portion of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end view, partially sectioned, of a portion of the sawhorse shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view in section, taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the support or brace itself, with the legs being shown schematically in broken lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings, a sawhorse constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a cross member 2 and two support or brace units generally indicated at l. The cross member 2 typically will be a piece of standard 2-by-4 or 2-by-6 lumber. The support or brace unit 1 preferably comprises a shaped metal unit comprising a bottom member 5 and side members 6 and 7, the side members being inclined towardeach other such that their upper edges define an elongate opening therebetween. Leg openings 14 are formed in the bottom member 5 closely adjacent the side members 6 and 7, and in fact preferably merg ing with slots 8 formed in the side members. Metal tangs 9 are located at the upper ends of the slots 8 for insertion into the upper ends of tubular legs 4 when the legs are fully inserted. The width of the rectangular slots 8 is substantially less than the outer diameter of the tubular legs 4, thereby allowing only a portion of the tubing wall to project through the slots to the outside. The slots thus provide part of the support for the tubular legs when the unit is assembled. Coil springs 10 and 11 are mounted on the bottom member 5 such that they normally extend across the inner portions of leg openings 14, as best seen in FIG. 5. The springs 10 and 11 are deflected inwardly upon insertion of the legs 4, and thereby resiliently bias the legs 4 outwardly into the slots 8. This spring pressure also maintains the legs in position when the assembled sawhorse is lifted and carried, but the springs do not hamper the ready removal or insertion of the tubular legs. Keyhole type slots 13 are provided in the bottom member for use in securing the unit to a standard cross member by wood screws 12.

The support body unit preferably is fabricated from sheet steel, and the supporting legs are formed from thin wall steel conduit cut to the appropriate length. The sheet steel should be slightly flexible, particularly in the side members 6 and 7, under normally encountered reasonably heavy loads. The end edges of the bottom member 5 are preferably turned down to add strength to the unit, as illustrated in the drawings.

The area defined by a side member, the adjacent portion of the bottom member, and the adjacent side of the cross member 2 is sufficient to permit axial insertion of one or both leg members 4 therethrough, whereby when the leg members are removed, they can be inserted through thesespaces and supported at their ends by the two units 1, thus facilitating carrying. This will be clear from the end view shown in FIG. 3.

The manner of assembly of the device will be apparent from the foregoing. Basically, the units 1 are connected to a cross member of appropriate dimensions. The tubular legs are then inserted through the openings 14 and'pass along the slots 8 until they are fully seated, with the tangs 9 inserted into the open ends of the tubular legs. The configurations and dimensions are such that the innermost edges of the tubular legs do not encounter the cross member 2, and preferably these innermost edges are not located inwardly as far as the innermost edges of the associated side member 6 or 7. Because of this, when the device flexes under load, it is the side members which grasp the cross member 2 more tightly, and not the legs themselves. When a downward force is applied to the cross member 2, this causes the legs to tend to spread at their bottom ends and hinge inwardly at their upper ends. The result is that the cross member is gripped with increasing force as the load force increases. Also, the legs want to swing outwardly about their uppermost ends, which forces the tubing into the rectangular slots in the sides of the unit and locks the upper ends of the legs into position in the unit.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described hereinabove and as defined in the appended claims. For instance, instead of the fully open slots 8 in the side members, longitudinal depressions or recessions could be stamped into the side members to achieve generally the same effect.

Iclaim:

l. A sawhorse support for use with an elongate cross member of rectangular section and another support in forming a sawhorse, said support comprising a body unit and a pair of support legs, said body unit comprising a unitary metal body having a bottom member and two upstanding side members, said side members being inclined inwardly toward each other and defining therebetween at their upper edges an opening through which the upper portion of said cross member can project laterally when a lower longitudinal surface of said cross member is resting on the central portion of the bottom member of the metal body, an opening in said bottom member at each outer edge thereof closely adjacent the corresponding upstanding side member, through which openings an end portion of one of said legs can be passed, means carried by each upstanding side member for receiving and positioning the end portion of the leg passing through the associated opening such that the distance between the innermost upper edges of the two legs cannot be less than the distance between the upper edges of said side members and such that the upper ends ofthe two legs terminate below the upper edges of said two side members when said legs are fully inserted, said legs and said openings being of generally corresponding cross sectional configurations.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one opening in the central portion of said bottom member through which a fastening member can pass to connect said body member and a cross member located therein.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising resilient means carried by said body member, normally extending across each of said leg openings, and each being deformable into a stressed configuration embracing a leg passed through the associated leg opening and biasing the leg outwardly against the adjacent side member.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said resilient means comprise coil springs positioned normally to extend across said leg openings.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said openings lies closely adjacent the line of intersection between said bottom member and one of said side members such that the outermost surface of a leg aligned with a leg opening is located outside the plane of the associated side member, and wherein each side member includes means defining therein an elongate recess extending upwardly from the adjacent leg opening to said receiving and positioning means, said recess forming a continuum of its associated leg opening as viewed axially of the recess and the leg opening, whereby an inserted leg is boundaried partially by said opening and partially by said recess and has its outermost surface beyond the plane of the side member.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein each said recess is an elongate slot intersecting a leg opening at its lower end, the width of the slot being less than the width ofa leg member, whereby the major portion of a leg member lies inside a side member and a minor portion thereof extends through the slot and lies outside the side member.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said leg members are hollow tubes, and said receiving and positioning means comprises a metal tang at the top of each slot for projecting into the hollow end of an inserted leg to position the upper end of said leg and limit the extent ofinsertion thereof.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bottom member and said side members are generally planar sections ofa single piece of metal.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the cross sectional area defined by a side member, the adjacent portion of said bottom member, and a line normal to said bottom member and passing through the innermost upper edge of the side member is large enough to permit axial insertion of at least one leg member.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said legs are of circular cross section, and wherein said leg openings in said bottom member each merge with a slot formed in the adjacent side member and extendinglupwardly to said receiving and positionlng means, the widt of said slot being less than the diameter of said legs, whereby, with the legs assembled with the body unit, downward pressure on the body unit tends to spread the legs at their lower ends, to force the legs tightly into the slots, and fiex the side members inwardly to narrow said opening defined between their upper edges. 

1. A sawhorse support for use with an elongate cross member of rectangular section and another support in forming a sawhorse, said support comprising a body unit and a pair of support legs, said body unit comprising a unitary metal body having a bottom member and two upstanding side members, said side members being inclined inwardly toward each other and defining therebetween at their upper edges an opening through which the upper portion of said cross member can project laterally when a lower longitudinal surface of said cross member is resting on the central portion of the bottom member of the metal body, an opening in said bottom member at each outer edge thereof closely adjacent the corresponding upstanding side member, through which openings an end portion of one of said legs can be passed, means carried by each upstanding side member for receiving and positioning the end portion of the leg passing through the associated opening such that the distance between the innermost upper edges of the two legs cannot be less than the distance between the upper edges of said side members and such that the upper ends of the two legs terminate below the upper edges of said two side members when said legs are fully inserted, said legs and said openings being of generally corresponding cross sectional configurations.
 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one opening in the central portion of said bottom member through which a fastening member can pass to connect said body member and a cross member located therein.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising resilient means carried by said body member, normally extending across each of said leg openings, and each being deformable into a stressed configuration embracing a leg passed through the associated leg opening and biasing the leg outwardly against the adjacent side member.
 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said resilient means comprise coil springs positioned normally to extend across said leg openings.
 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said openings lies closely adjacent the line of intersection between said bottom member and one of said side members such that the outermost surface of a leg aligned with a leg opening is located outside the plane of the associated side member, and wherein each side member includes means defining therein an elongate recess extending upwardly from the adjacent leg opening to said receiving and positioning means, said recess forming a continuum of its associated leg opening as viewed axially of the recess and the leg opening, whereby an inserted leg is boundaried partially by said opening and partially by said recess and has its outermost surface beyond the plane of the side member.
 6. ApparatUs as claimed in claim 5 wherein each said recess is an elongate slot intersecting a leg opening at its lower end, the width of the slot being less than the width of a leg member, whereby the major portion of a leg member lies inside a side member and a minor portion thereof extends through the slot and lies outside the side member.
 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said leg members are hollow tubes, and said receiving and positioning means comprises a metal tang at the top of each slot for projecting into the hollow end of an inserted leg to position the upper end of said leg and limit the extent of insertion thereof.
 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bottom member and said side members are generally planar sections of a single piece of metal.
 9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the cross sectional area defined by a side member, the adjacent portion of said bottom member, and a line normal to said bottom member and passing through the innermost upper edge of the side member is large enough to permit axial insertion of at least one leg member.
 10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said legs are of circular cross section, and wherein said leg openings in said bottom member each merge with a slot formed in the adjacent side member and extending upwardly to said receiving and positioning means, the width of said slot being less than the diameter of said legs, whereby, with the legs assembled with the body unit, downward pressure on the body unit tends to spread the legs at their lower ends, to force the legs tightly into the slots, and flex the side members inwardly to narrow said opening defined between their upper edges. 